IT started with an argument.
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As is often the way with games of Scrabble, conjecture about double word scores or largely unheard of two letter words can break friendships apart.
In this case, it did quite the opposite.
The Tamworth Scrabble Club has met every Thursday for the past two decades for a game or three and member Anne Fenwicke encourages others to come along.
"We get a hell of a lot of pleasure out of it, it's just a happy group and anyone who would like to join us is welcome to," she said.
"I don't like the tiles I'm getting today but it's interesting, it's a stimulant.
"I play on the internet too and I play with a club in England where we have international games.
"To come here and interact with people is delightful, it keeps your mind active and I look forward to Thursdays, I think most of us do."
The group plays with the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary and was previously affiliated with the Scrabble Club of NSW.
For anyone who hasn't played, the game involves spelling words to score points, made out of letters pulled randomly from a bag.
The rules are a little bit more complicated than that, but that's the general gist.
Every Thursday at 10am, the first game kicks off, and as long as there's still someone to play with, members can stay as long as they like.
There's always a lunch-break in between before the scrabble club members sit down to wordsmith against each other again.
The ultimate move is a seven-letter clear board, where players use every tile on their rack in one fell swoop.
Marilyn Koruniak used to look after her father, who died at the age of 99, she said the scrabble club was a welcome escape.
Before she joined up she would spend hours at home as a carer without much more interaction with friends.
"There's the social side of it which is in a safe space, that's why we encourage people to come," she said.
"Some people can be daunted because they think they can't spell but actually you can look up any word you want and we help the newcomers.
"If someone's home alone they can come here without any fear of competition, they'll just be nurtured.
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"One of the main reasons we come here is just to have a meal at the pub once a week, it gets you out of the house."
There's no skill level required to be a member of the club, where the perception that Scrabble is an intellects game is thrown out the window.
Tamworth Scrabble Club welcomes more members to come and try the game, who can join by turning up at 10am on Thursday's at the Southgate Inn, or contact Ken Stuart on 0439139046.
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